The mower market is a hotly-contested one, but Keltec (Engineering) of Co. Limerick has brought some fresh thinking to the field – by introducing a set of (butterfly) rear-mounted mowers with its existing screw-type augers (rather than belt-based groupers).
The machine was on display at the National Ploughing Championships in Co. Offaly.
Although the auger-based approach is not new, one criticism has been that the swath is left ‘twisted’ rather than ‘layered’.
Being left in this state could cause difficulties when, for example, baling the swath. In any case, Keltec claims to have overcome this problem by feeding the crop in at the top of the auger (rather than below it).
Meanwhile, conditioning is carried out by heavy-duty steel, ‘V-shaped’ tines, which bruise the grass more aggressively – thus enabling a shorter wilting period.
Should the operator wish to not group the swaths, a plate can be opened above the auger – allowing the conditioner to throw the grass straight out of the rear of the machine.
Keltec believes that the main advantage of augers over belts is that the overall machine is more compact and lighter in weight. Importantly, says the company, the weight is kept closer to the rear of the tractor.
Elsewhere on its stand, Keltec showed its latest ‘two-cage’, self-loading bale transporters (chasers). The larger models have split cages – to enable loading on undulating or rough ground.
The bigger units are apparently more popular in the open fields of eastern Europe. Yet, even on the more confined farms of Ireland Keltec claims that, when compared with ‘traditional’ bale-gathering methods, field clearance times can be easily halved with its smaller transporters.